Interesting. Pours dark brown with tan head. Smells sweet and brown sugar. Nothing like Iíve had before. Kind of smokey, brown sugar, rich, and sort of dark chocolate taste. Medium carbonation and takes some time to put this one down. Interesting but not my favorite.

12 oz bottle courtesy of an extra via trade on BA. Thanks. Pours a deeper brooding brownish ruby hue, healthy reddish deep glow and a clear body make this a show stopper. Frothy tannish head atop stays as a decent layer, good frothy cap with nice lacing overall. Aromas are firm brandy, that stick and oak, wet wood and vanillin meet spirit, warmth and dried apple. Touches of toast, toffee and gentle dark fruit meet more vanilla, carmelized malts and earthiness. A bit sticky, sweet, that brandy barrel offers some firm flavors and depth. Initial is still firmer body, some sticky depth is caramel, gentle oak and toffee. Toast, biscuits, a faint touch of leather and firm dried dark fruit skin meet a bit of butterscotch, spirit and warmth. Still that firmer malt base beneath. Some prickly tannic warmth creeps in, Brandy spirit and flavors, wet wood and vanillin. Some touches of cola, carmelized malts, gentle sugary residue. Backend is still a bit sticky but not overwhelming. Some vinous character creeps in, more butterscotch and caramel hang on. Touches of oak, earth, gentle warmth as we taper out. Overall, the beer itself has held up well. Still a firm body, not hot or brooding. However that butterscotch slickness does hang on and get a bit weird at times. But waves of toast and cocoa really pound hard and make this enjoyable at others. Solid stuff, the ABV tag on this boy doesnít quite show up. A nice, well rounded warmer that shows a more potent nose than the beer itself lets up. Just a lushious deep pour that is quite alluring.

"Holy hell!! This yearís comes in at a whopping 12.8% and somehow manages to be smoother and to show less alcohol than the 10.1% Silva Stout (also a great beer). This beer is a near prefect marriage of brandy and barleywine. Aroma is as good as it gets...toffee, slight earthy hops, hefty dose of brandy, caramel. Taste is similar but I kept going back to stick my nose in the glass. Probably the 3rd best BW (and best brandy) Iíve ever had, behind only King Henry and Abacus. Amazingly smooth and deeeelicious."

September 8th, 2012 - My day out at Green Flash - celebrating with that inopportunely named corn hole game and oversized Jenga - came to a close with the heaviest weight fighter there: Sleepiní with Shaggy. I STILL donít know why itís called that (and Iíd love to know) but itís a powerful brew. Even after a full day of broiling in the sun and tasting a whole slew of brews, I get all the regular mainstays of barley wines, including heavy notes of dark fruits like figs, as well as brown sugar, molasses and booze. More curiously, I pick up scents of the sea, sautťed scallops, spinach and sherry. Maybe my nose is friend, but whatever I am or am not smelling, I kind of like it. The taste is sweet at first, and then a little savory. Cinnamon, alcohol and honey splash on the tongue first, followed by the distinctive, deep honey taste of bourbon. After so many beers itís a good thing this one has a little sinew behind it, as it makes a fine cap to a good festivalís day of drinking.

Bottle... Lightly hazed, dark copper ale with a mid-sized, creamy, off-white head. The aroma is of caramel with a light splash of brandy. Full-bodied with a velvety mouthfeel and tingly carbonation. The flavor supplies the caramel and brandy promised by the bouquet. Not exceedingly sweet or boozy. Well-blended and very enjoyable. Thanks to richiesd for supplying the bottle!

500ml bottle thanks to Darrell. Pours out a ruby amber topped with a sand head. Nose is caramel sweetness pit fruit wood and some hop notes. Taste is as the nose sweet caramel nice rich malts and a good bitterness on the end a very tasty one.

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